2012-04-14 #WikiLeaks News Update: Assange TV show premiere date; Other news




WikiLeaks has been financially blockaded without process for 497 days.
Julian Assange has been detained without charge for 494 days.
Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without trial for 691 days.
A secret Grand Jury has been active in the U.S. without transparency for 577 days.


Julian Assange News:

  • WikiLeaks announced that the first episode of Julian Assange's 12-part talk show, "The World Tomorrow," will premiere April 17 on RT, 11:30AM GMT (see below for times worldwide). Here are some highlights of the announcement:
    • Official website for "The World Tomorrow."
    • Official video page for "The World Tomorrow."
    • The official hashtag on Twitter is #ExpectAssange.
    • The opening and ending themes have been composed by award-winning British-Sri Lankan hip hop artist M.I.A.
    • RT interviewed Julian Assange about his decision to create the show and the philosophy behind it.
    • WikiLeaks asked, "Any bets on who The World Tomorrow's first mystery guest(s) are?" From information collected via WikiLeaks, Twitter, and interviews, confirmed guests are believed to be: Tariq Ali, Moazzam Begg, Noam Chomsky, Alaa Abd El-Fattah, David Horowitz, Anwar Ibrahim, Moncef Marzouki, and Nabeel Rajab.
    • Premiere times for the show are as follows: 4:30AM in Los Angeles, 7:30AM in New York, 12:30PM in London, 1:30PM in Zurich, 3:30PM in Moscow, 5:00PM in New Delhi, 8:30PM in Tokyo, and 9:30PM in Sydney.
    • Due to mainstream media often misreporting this fact, it must be reiterated that RT is the broadcaster and is not involved in the production. "The World Tomorrow" is produced by Quick Roll Productions, a company owned by Julian Assange, in partnership with Dartmouth Films.
    • Watch the second trailer below:
  • An Op-Ed in Sydney Morning Herald discusses how Julian Assange is not guilty of sexual assault nor treason, yet he faces the threat of extradition to the U.S.; all for exposing crimes, not committing them.
  • WSWS has written an article detailing how the Australian Government has reinforced its conspiracy against Julian Assange in the days leading up to his Supreme Court verdict.
  • In a new interview, Christine Assange discussed how Julian's situation represents a larger issue of global exploitation and intimidation by the U.S. Government.
  • An article in WSWS covers the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights to allow the extradition of five men on terror-related charges to the U.S. and looks at the implications this carries for Julian Assange's case.



WikiLeaks News:

  • Cablegate Coverage:
    • An article in Al Jazeera analyses the failed war on drugs, citing multiple WikiLeaks cables which show how "complex, fraught and internationalised" the drug war has become.
    • An article in Wall Street Journal discusses the upcoming U.S.-Iran talks, referencing multiple ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) threat assessments released by WikiLeaks.
  • Harvard Law School professor Yochai Benkler has published a 69-page draft of his essay, "A Free Irresponsible Press: WikiLeaks and the Battle over the Soul of the Networked Fourth Estate," which covers why the battle over WikiLeaks is so vital.
  • A smear campaign against Atanas Chobanov of Balkan Leaks, WikiLeaks' Bulgarian media partner, has begun. Julian Assange commented, "I denounce the smears against Atanas Chobanov. Balkan Leaks is an official WikiLeaks partner, and Chobanov is an honorable man."
  • An article by Harry Blutstein details an event in 1772 where Benjamin Franklin anonymously received and circulated letters by Thomas Hutchinson about colonial rights, causing outrage in Boston and forcing Hutchinson to flee. Blutstein compares these events to modern times with WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and Bradley Manning.
  • A batch of letters from Australian MPs and Senators sent in response to questions regarding WikiLeaks and Julian Assange have been posted. See also how MPs and Senators rank in their support for WikiLeaks at OzWikiWatch.
  • In 2011, Anne Ramberg, the head of the Swedish Bar Association, issued a statement in which she discussed the importance of WikiLeaks and calls on Sweden to stand up for the organization and Julian Assange.
  • A WikiLeaks supporter described a conversation with a MasterCard executive who said they had blocked WikiLeaks donations on instructions from the Australian PM and Attorney General. After this began spreading via Twitter, MasterCard stated this information was false and the decision to block donations was theirs alone.
  • The WikiLeaks Forum is calling on people to help translate the Global Intelligence Files.
  • A new video in the ongoing WikiLeaks support series, "Did You Have Any Idea?," has been released, featuring peace activist Gail Malone.
  • Twitter user @SomersetBean has created posters for the upcoming 500th day of detainment without charge for Julian Assange (April 20), and the 700th day of imprisonment for Bradley Manning without trial (April 23).



Bradley Manning News:

  • A U.S. federal court has ruled that employees must actually be involved in hacking to be prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act anti-hacking statute. This is important for Bradley Manning's case as he is accused of breaching the CFAA, although the prosecution does not allege he broke into any computer systems.
  • During an April 12 fundraiser, GOP Candidate Ron Paul stated that he would have Bradley Manning protected under the Whistleblower Act.
  • "The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning," a play detailing the soldier's life, began touring Wales on April 12. You can still reserve a spot to watch a live-streamed version of the play. A video clip of the play is available at the BBC.
  • The Nobel Peace Prize, for which Bradley Manning is a nominee, will be announced on October 12.
  • April 20 is the deadline to raise funds for a campaign to put up 21 Bradley Manning support ads around the Washington DC Metro subway system.
  • The New Inquiry has published an excerpt of Chase Madar's new book, "The Passion of Bradley Manning,"
  • The Bradley Manning Support Network has posted an excerpt about Bradley's motion hearings from the new book by Greg Mitchell and Kevin Gosztola, "Truth and Consequences: The U.S. vs Bradley Manning."



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Upcoming Dates & Events:

April 14-28: Performances of "The Radicalization of Bradley Manning" held between these dates in schools across Wales.

April 16: Julian Assange's Supreme Court verdict expected to be handed down this week.

April 17: Julian Assange's talk show, "The World Tomorrow," premieres on RT, 11:30AM GMT..

April 17: WikiLeaks' 500th day of financial blockade without process.

April 19: "WikiLeaks, Assange, and Defending Democracy" panel at BMW Edge in Melbourne, 6:30PM, with Christine Assange, Scott Ludlam, Lizzie O'Shea, Bernard Keane, and Greg Barns.

April 20: Julian Assange's 500th day of detainment without charge.

April 23: Bradley Manning's 700th day of imprisonment without trial.

April 24-26: Bradley Manning's next set of pre-trial hearings. Support events planned worldwide.

April 27-28: Kristinn Hrafnsson to speak at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy at panels "Whistleblowers and anonymous leaks: can the media do without them?" (27/4) and "Dossier WikiLeaks. Segreti italiani" (28/4).

May 23: Julian Assange to speak at Enterprise Information Management Congress 2012 in The Netherlands.

May 27: "Incident in New Baghdad" to air on The Documentary Channel, 8PM.